Total Chaos
by See Jane Write
Summary: Alright, we all know Xander stopped Willow from ending the world at the end of "Grave". But...what if he hadn't? Chapter Six is finally up!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: These characters and places are Joss's. I'm just borrowing them. And now, this may come as a shock to you, but it's the truth: the opening scene is not my own work. It's from "Grave", written by David Fury.

"If you wanna kill the world? Well, then start with me. I've earned that," Xander begged from King Man's Bluff where Willow was desperately trying to raise the tower of Proserpexa.

"You think I won't?" Evil Willow questioned him.

"It doesn't matter. I'll still love you.

"Shut up!" Evil Willow said angrily. She gestured with her hand. No magick bolt of light, but Xander's head jerked to one side as if he was hit. Three parallel cuts appeared on his cheek, bloody as if scratched. He put his hand up to them then looked at his fingers.

Evil Willow looked at Xander, his face clearly saying that he thinks he still won. Evil Willow smiled. "That's cute," she told the carpenter. "But it's not over. Evil Willow smiled, bending her head and saying something in a foreign language, probably Latin. Magick and crackles of lightning swirled around her. The magick faded and she lifted her head, smiling. She had her magicks restored, by herself like she had done at the Magic Box earlier.

"I have to start with you, huh?" Evil Willow asked, looking at the person who was Willow's best friend. A smile appeared on her veiny face. "That can be arranged.

Giles winced, frowning in pain. Pain tearing his body apart, most apparent of that body being his side. Kneeling down next to him, Anya looked down at her ex- boss, her face filled with worry. Worry for the man's heath and for the safety of the rest of the world. "Giles?" she asked quietly. "Giles, are you gonna- The vengeance demon felt tears coming to her eyes as she fought to hold them back.

"Xander's in trouble," Giles rasped, looking up at Anya, the seriousness expression clearly visible on his face. "The Earth is in trouble," he corrected, after seeing the look on Anya's face.

Anya frowned, looking very confused. Yes, the world was about to end, but they've fought things like this before. The good guys always won, so she didn't see the danger.

"If someone does not get to Willow soon- very soon- then the Earth is _definitely_ doomed," Giles explained. He winced in pain again, bringing one hand up to his head. "Obviously I can't go.

"And Buffy and Dawn are probably still in that pit thing," Anya pointed out, frowning as she realized something. "So I guess that leaves me. A look of panic came over her face. "Giles, I can't do anything. If Xander couldn't stop her, no one can. Only Tara could have, but she's dead.

Giles looked up at her, hope filling in his eyes. "I know that," he said weakly. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper that Anya presumed had a spell on it. "This is a pretty basic spell, so I think I have the energy toÉto transform you to look like Tara. He paused, rethinking the spell in his head. "Only for a little bit though," he added, "so you'd have to work fast.

Anya nodded slowly. "Fast," she began nervously as she began fidgeting with her hands. "You want me to be fast.

Giles weakly nodded at her. "I have faith in you," he assured Anya, as he unfolded the spell.

Anya nodded, throwing herself into Giles's arms, hugging him tightly. "You know in a twisted, non- icky way, I kinda love you.

"You too," Giles rasped from within her embrace. "But I am in a great deal of pain and you have to get over to Willow," he continued with urgency.

Anya nodded and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

"Buffy," Dawn began tiredly as she dropped her sword to the ground. "I can't do this. They just keep coming and I can't stop them." She stopped, moving aside where she hoped the dirt monsters would not see her.

Buffy looked over at Dawn, quickly slaying one of the monsters before it got a chance to harm her sister in any way. She looked around the pit and smiled slightly as she realized that no new monsters were coming. "Dawn, look," she said with a slightly pleased look. "It's over," she exclaimed as she killed the last two of the monsters with one long swing of her sword.

"Is that a good thing?" Dawn asked as she picked her slender head up.

Buffy smiled as she walked over to Dawn. "I hope so," she said. "Now let's try and find a way out of here," she added as she looked around the dank pit.

Evil Willow looked down at Xander, who lay on the ground by the statue unconscious.

Anya teleported to behind the statue, not wanting to have Evil Willow think she had hurt Tara. She stuck her head out and saw the stream of magick coming from Evil Willow's hands and hitting Xander, knocking him to the ground. She looked down at her ensemble of clothing, the exact ones Tara had been wearing the other day, complete with the shattered blood all over her shirt.

Finally gathering the courage to talk to Evil Willow, Anya stepped out from behind the statue. "Willow," she began in a soft voice. One that she hoped resembled Tara enough to fool Willow, at least.

"Tara?" Evil Willow gasped, her face filling with shock.

"Yes, baby, it's me," Anya-as-Tara continued. She gave a mental frown as she was very uncomfortable with the situation. After all, she was talking about having love feelings for the one person who had severely hurt, possibly even killed the one man Anya had ever loved. "Willow, you have to stop what you're doing."

"It's all for you," Willow informed her girlfriend.

"Maybe in your mind," Anya-Tara began once more, "but you're hurting and killing innocent people."

"How-how were they innocent?" Willow stared as tears welled up in her huge black and veiny eyes. "Warren killed you, took my light away from this pathetic excuse for a world. He deserves to be punished!"

"While that is true, the human society has its own ways with dealing with situations like this," Anya-Tara began nervously. "And you do not need to worry about me. Willow, I'm happy here and one day you will join me again."

Evil Willow frowned, feeling very hurt. "How can you say that?" she asked in horror. "I need you, baby."

"No, you need to stop what you're doing," Anya-Tara answered crossly. She gasped slightly, realizing that was not something the real Tara Maclay would have said. And certainly not in that tone of voice.

But unfortunately for Anya, Evil Willow realized it as well. "You," she began furiously. "You dare to impersonate the one person who means anything to me. Who are you?" she asked angrily. When whatever it was in the guise of Tara did not answer, Evil Willow blurted out, "Reveal!"

At that moment, Anya instantly reverted back into her normal appearance. "Willow," she began, suddenly growing very afraid.

"Knives or pointy things?" Evil Willow asked with no emotion in her voice as she glared at Anya.

"Beg pardon?" the vengeance demon asked.

"I'm going to torture and kill you now, but since it is you, I'll give you a choice of weapon I will be using," Evil Willow pointed out as she saw Anya gulp in fear before trying to run away. "Freeze!" she commanded harshly as Anya stopped moving and became frozen.

"This might hurt a bit," Evil Willow stated as she moved closer towards the demon.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: If any character or place or phrase or mythology is familiar to you (presuming of course, that you are a fan of the show, which if you're not then you're insane), then they did not come from me. They came from this wacky guy Joss Whedon, ever hear of him? He's great and he owns all the legal rights to these characters, places, you get the point!

"Giles!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly as she ran into the muddle that at one point used to be the Magic Box. "I think Willow's been stopped! All the dirt demons that she had raised to fight us magickally disappeared!" she continued.

"Dawn, calm down," Buffy added as she followed her sister at a slightly slower place. "It might just mean Willow has dedicated all her energy into raising that temple of Prosperity."

"Proserpexa," Giles corrected from his position on the floor. "And if all her energy was devoted into it, we would all be dead."

Dawn smiled happily. "So that means she's been stopped, right? I mean, we're all still alive and such."

"Either we've stopped her or something is distracting her," Buffy corrected her sister again. She admired Dawn's optimism and the last thing she wanted to do was to tell her sister there was no hope, but she had to play the odds. It was a possibility and there was nothing the Slayer could do about that.

Dawn sighed heavily, finally taking in what Buffy had said. As much as she might hate to admit, her sister had a point. And, more likely than not, something or someone was just up there distracting the evil witch. "But who could distract her for this long?" she asked in fear. "And where the hell is Xander?"

Buffy's hazel colored eyes widened with fear. "Xander! It has to be him. He bolted off as soon as Anya mentioned where he was." She frowned, fear for her friend's life shaking throughout her petite body. "Who else could distract her this much for this long?"

"Tara," Giles stated weakly as he propelled himself upwards a little, leaning his back against the counter, hoping the glass would not give in.

Confusion fell over the Slayer's body. "Giles, you are aware that Tara's dead, right?" Although the news regarding Willow's calmer half was heartbreaking, the fact still remained true. Tara Maclay was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

Giles nodded. "Yes, I am aware of that." He frowned, feeling anger at himself. "It was my stupid idea. I thought it would work," he began.

"Thought what would work?" Buffy asked curiously as well as impatiently.

"Xander was in trouble. I sent Anya over to Kingman's Bluff, in the guise of Tara, hoping she could stop Willow."

"And no one's heard from either of them since?" Dawn asked, bringing things together.

"Oh god," Buffy stated as she ran out of the store, down Main Street on her way to Kingman's Bluff. Her heart pounded as she urged herself to move on, her both Willow and Anya's sake. The small group of well-armed green demons greeting her was not something she had time to deal with.

Hours had passed before Xander regained consciousness. He opened his eyes, squinting them against the overhead sunlight. _What happened? Why didn't Willow kill me?_ He knew that the witch promised to start with him, but yet he still had a pulse, and was therefore still alive. But where was Willow?

Coughing lightly, he stood up. Sure, it hurt him like hell, but he had to find out what was going on. He quietly walked over to the other side of the temple. No Willow. Expected, but it was not a good thing. The thing he was not expecting to find was the body of his former fiancee.

He could barely recognize it as Anya. Her clothes were soaked in her blood, which covered most of her body. Various scratch marks and bruises covered her face and neck area. "Ahn?" he began in fear as he crawled up next to her, picking her head up and holding it in his lap. With his other hand, he picked up her wrist, checking for a pulse.

"Xander!" Buffy yelled as she ran up to her friend. "Xander, are you alright?" she asked as she collapsed next to him. "Sorry it took so long, I was attacked by this demon clan, probably summoned by Willow," she explained, still not wanting to fully accept that Willow was evil.

"I'll heal," Xander said sadly as he looked down at Anya.

Buffy caught Xander's line of vision. "Oh god," she whispered. "Is she--" she began, not wanting to speak the dreaded words. Sure, she and Anya had never been the best of buddies, but this. Just the thought that Willow had killed someone close to them. It was too much for the young woman to handle.

"She's alive," Xander said. "Barely," he added a moment later as he pulled his hand away from her wrist. The pulse there was weakening. "We need to get her some help."

Nodding rapidly, Buffy whipped out her cell phone from her pocket. She had not been planning to use it much until Dawn had started high school, since she had another one for her sister, but this was an emergency. She glanced over at Xander before dialing 911. "My name is Buffy Summers and I found my friend a few minutes ago. She's been really badly hurt by something, I don't know what. We're at Kingman's Bluff," she rushed out in one breath. "Hurry!" she yelled as she saw Xander cradling Anya's head in his lap from the corner of her eye.

"Ahn, you're going to make it through this," Xander told her comfortingly, despite the fact he knew that she could not hear him. "You're strong and you're going to make it," Xander said again as he tried to fight the tears dwelling up in his large brown eyes. Just the site of the former couple was enough to put tears in Buffy's eyes if she had not turned her back to them. "I'm not going to loose you again," Xander added.

Buffy nodded as the annoying voice of the emergency's receptionist droned on. She had memorized the speech years ago having had to tragically hear it so much. It all said the same thing. Help is on the way; do not hang up until you are told. Buffy frowned as she bit her lower lip harder, keeping herself from A) yelling at the woman and B) allowing the tears to flow from the sight of Anya and Xander.

"You can hang up now," the voice told her as Buffy instantly did such before rushing over to the fallen couple.

"Help's coming, they're very nearby," she let out in one breath as she sunk to her knees. She had nothing else she could say that could possibly make her best friend feel any better. "I better find Willow," she said as she stood back up, hearing the ambulance sirens. "I'll be back, I promise."

Xander did not say anything. Sure, he could hear Buffy's sweet and caring voice but he could not understand the words the Slayer was trying to get to him. Everything around him was a whirl. He could understand nothing except for the fact that Anya might soon be dead. Something he was not going to allow to happen no matter what.

He stood with her at her side at all times. The ambulance came and took her, Xander right behind. He hated these rides. The rides to the hospital during which a person has no idea if the patient is going to make it to the hospital. He had been through it with Buffy only two days ago. He was not about to loose Anya. He remained at her side as long as he could.

Evil Willow smiled wickedly as she magicked herself into the Magic Box, causing both Giles and Dawn to jump back in fright. "Which one of you did that to me?" she asked, her voice filled with anger and rage. "Which one?"

"My money's on the Watcher," she continued when she got no answer as she fearlessly walked further into the broken down shop over to Giles. "Rupert's a bad boy."

"Willow, you have to stop," Giles commanded. "It's not what Tara wants."

Evil Willow let out a small laugh. "Silly mortal," she said. "You are just begging for death. Like that little bitch you sent after me. That was not playing by the rules."

"Oh god," Dawn whispered as she sunk down to the floor. "Anya," she whispered in fear, wondering if Willow meant what she was hinting at. "Did you kill her?"

"It's an improvement, believe me," Evil Willow responded coldly. "She had it coming. If you were in my position, you would have done the same."

"Doubtful," Giles put in before he found himself being flung across the room, a result of Willow's power of course.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Evil Willow hollered. When Giles did not answer, she smiled slightly. "Didn't think so," she mumbled. "Don't fear. I'm not going to kill you," she assured the Watcher. "Yet, anyway," she began. "I'm going to need your help with a little project and I can't get help from you if you're dead," she continued.

She smiled wickedly as another blast of magick flung from her hands over to the struggling Watcher. "But my needs can wait. You can sleep," she said as she saw his unconscious body falling to the ground.

"Willow," Dawn began. "This is terrible."

Evil Willow shrugged. "Really?" she asked in confusion. "It looks about right to me," she said as she walked over to Giles. "Oh, wait, you're still here," she said with a frown. "Sorry, you can't know about this and neither can your Making-Things-Right sister." Evil Willow bit her black-lipstick-covered lip as she thought for a second. "I suppose you could be sleeping," she said as she waved her hand down in front of Dawn, causing the teenager to instantly fall to the ground, fast asleep with a few bits of debris falling on top of her like a blanket.

"Leaving now," she declared as she walked out of the Magic Box, Giles's body tucked under her arm.

"Giles, we need help," Buffy said as she ran into the Magic Box, only to find it was in worse condition than it had been when she left, if such a thing was possible. "Dawn! Giles!" she hollered as she began to grow very afraid. "Dawn! Giles!"

"Hear!" Dawn called from her position on the floor beneath a bit of rubble. She coughed slightly as she stood up.

Buffy's face filled with relief as she walked over to her sister and hugged her tightly. "Where's Giles?" she asked, her face returning to the pallor of fear she had when she had first entered the store.

"Willow," Dawn began. "Willow has him."

"Oh god," she began, suddenly growing fear for the Watcher's life. "Did she say anything about what she was going to do with him?"

Dawn shook her head. "She didn't say much. All she said was she had some sort of project that would require Giles's help. She didn't say what, but I'm guessing she would keep him alive."

"Anything else?"

Dawn shook her head once more. "She magickally knocked the two of us out and presumably left with Giles."

"Right," Buffy said in fear. "We-we have to find them. Keep Willow from killing anyone else."

"Very well," the demon told Spike in his eerie mysterious voice. "You have endured the required trials.

"Bloody right I have," Spike told the demon angrily. He rolled over onto his side, pushing himself up to his knees. His face was swollen, bruised, with more injuries on his arms and chest. "So you'll give me what I want. Make me what I was. So Buffy can get what she deserves.

"Very well," the demon said, his eyes glowing. "We shall remove your chip. With that, the demon stuck his hand on Spike's head. Spike screamed as his chip was removed.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me. It's all Joss's.

"Willow?" Giles asked from his position chained to a wall. He frowned, feeling quite uncomfortable and lost as he had no idea where he was or what he could do about it. All he knew was that he was not at the Magic Box. "Willow, where are we?" he asked.

"Aw, disappointed that we're not in Kansas anymore?" Evil Willow asked as she faced Giles with a wicked smile on her face. "You're in my world now and you're going to help me with something."

"And what on earth would make you think I'd do that?" Giles asked weakly.

"Because that way you get to live," Evil Willow answered plainly as she turned back and faced her table covered with various spell ingredients, from herbs to candles to eyes of newt.

"I'm not afraid to die," he stated.

Evil Willow nodded. "True, you're not. But Buffy is. And Dawn, Xander. Anya too, if she's still alive."

"What did you do to her?" Giles demanded.

Evil Willow immediately dismissed the question with a short wave of her hand. "Giles, are you with me or not?" she asked angrily. "I need a bit of help. And isn't that what you Watchers are for? Helping people."

"Helping Slayers," Giles rasped. "Not mega-witches who want to destroy the world."

"I'm not destroying the world," she corrected him. "At least, not yet," she added. "There's something I have to take care of first and for that to work I am going to need some help. Are you with me or not?"

"What did you do to Anya?" Giles repeated.

Xander stood impatiently in fear directly outside the operating room. That was as far as he was allowed to go. He hated it with a vengeance, but there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was sit and wait until his Anya would return to him.

"She'll be ok," he whispered to himself. "She'll be ok. She's immortal, she'll be ok. She has to be ok. I'm telling her to" Once again, he peeked in through the window, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. And once again, he could see no part of Anya, just five or six doctors surrounding her as they tried their hardest to repair the damage that Willow had done.

"Come on, Ahn," he begged as the tears began forming within the pools of his eyes. The sound of footsteps echoed through the small white hallway he was trapped in. "What are they doing to her?" he demanded as he grabbed the passing nurse by the collar. "What is going on in that room?"

The nurse shook her head. "I--I don't know," she responded in fear. "I'm needed down the hall." She frowned, finding that Xander was still holding her hostage. "Like now, sir," she added as she felt Xander release his grip on her. "When I'm done, I'll get you some information on your girlfriend," she promised as she ran down the hall.

Xander nodded as he watched the nurse go. Her light brown hair bounced against her shoulders as she ran into her room and Xander returned his attention to Anya's room.

Worry and panic quickly overcame Xander's face as he saw one of the doctors pulling away, followed by another, then another. Either they were done, or they realized she could not be saved and it was a lost cause. His face grew paler as he saw the lead doctor coming out and over to him.

"How is she?" Xander asked with a gulp.

The doctor looked back inside before turning to Xander. "I think it's fair to say she's been better."

"How is she?" Xander demanded. "She's alive, right?"

The doctor drew in a deep breath as he gestured at the two seats on the other side of the hall. "You might want to sit down, sir."

Xander was now officially worried. No one ever had to sit down for good news. He gulped as he sat, knowing that whatever the doctor was about to tell him, he was not going to like. "What is it? What did you do to her?"

The doctor nodded. "Well, we've stitched up all seven gashes that were covering her body and got a transfusion to replace the blood she lost--"

"Is she alive?" Xander interrupted.

"Alive in the sense that her heart is still beating," the doctor answered truthfully. "But sir, there is serious head trauma involved. It's doubtful she'll ever regain consciousness."

Xander nodded as he looked mournfully into Anya's room. "Can I see her?" he asked a moment later.

The doctor nodded again. "Of course," he replied as the two of them stood up.

Spike smiled viscously as he entered the town containing the Hellmouth again. Darkness had covered the town, making it free reign for him. He was free once again. There were few people wandering around the streets along with a group or two of demons.

"This is neat," he said with a wicked smile as he continued walking. "Revello Drive," he pointed out as he turned onto the street, browsing the house numbers before finding the house he wanted. He had been inside that house on numerous occasions. Now he could get what he had originally came to Sunnydale for, back when he was with Drusilla. The death of the Slayer.

He walked up, peering into the window just to make sure they were home. The younger Summers girl was sitting on the couch, watching television but not really concentrating on what was going on there. Spike grew bored with her as he walked along to the kitchen window.

"There we are," he said happily as he caught sight of the vampire slayer he would love to kill. She was on the phone again, presumably with Xander or Giles the vampire thought. "Perfect," he whispered as he walked over and kicked the kitchen door open, causing Buffy to scream.

"Xander, I have to go," she said as she dropped the phone to the ground.

"Slayer," Spike noted. "Alone at last."

"Um, I'm right here," Dawn pointed out from behind the vampire. Her slender arms were folded across her chest as she glared at the vampire. "Or did you forget about me?"

Spike chuckled. "Nonsense. I would never forget about the little Summers girl. You just run along now," he said. "Go back to the telly."

"Nothing good on," Dawn said with a frown.

"Then rent something!" Spike yelled. "This is between me and your sister."

"And after what you tried to do to her, I'm supposed to trust you?" Dawn asked in shock as she looked at Spike. "I swear, you must be on some kind of drugs."

Spike chuckled again as he vamped out. "Not drugs," he said with a laugh as he lunged at Buffy.

"Dawn, get out of here!" Buffy yelled as she punched Spike hard in the jaw, causing him to fall back a little.

Dawn nodded as she dutifully did what she was told. The front door slammed shut as Dawn ran over to Janice's house.

"What did you do?" Buffy asked, looking over at Spike. Her fists were clenched and she held them out in front of her, ready for anything Spike might try to try.

"That's right, Slayer. I'm back," he told her with a smile as he stared longingly at her neck. "It's been a while since I've had Slayer's blood. Wonder if it's still the powerful aphrodisiac it used to be."

Buffy rolled her eyes in disgust. "How?" she asked after a moment.

"Cave demon in Africa," Spike said with a smile as he moved in closer. "I got better and now we have to pick up where we left off."

"Now Rupert," Evil Willow began as she once again turned back to Giles. "I've told you what you wanted to know. Now come on and help me out. You are one pesky little Watcher. It's getting quite annoying."

Evil Willow glanced over at the window. "It's almost midnight, I am going to need your help. This can only be done on a full moon at midnight," she pointed out as she walked over to her table with magickal supplies."

"Help with what?" Giles asked exhaustedly.

"Making Tara come back to me," Willow began with a grin.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: As if the fact needs to be drilled in that head of yours once more, but I do not own any part of Joss Whedon's Buffyverse. (It's called Joss Whedon's for a reason, meaning it belongs to Joss Whedon...)

After a long and torturous hour and the failed phone call to Buffy from the payphone, Xander left the hospital. It had just gotten too depressing for him to ever be there. It pained him to see his once brave and strong Anya in the weak unconscious state she was in.

Xander waved his hand out to catch a taxi. The hospital had somehow agreed to pay for him to get a ride home. But he would not be going home. He had to see Buffy. Buffy would make things better. Or, at least, make him feel better.

Xander's mind was filling with thoughts as he tried to grasp what was going on. Only two days ago things had been perfect, except for the fact that Anya was still furious with him. But Tara was still alive in those days, Buffy and him were in good terms, and Willow could not have been happier.

But now...Xander shook his head. It was too mind-boggling to even think about. Everything was different.

As soon as the carpenter approached the Slayer's house, he rushed out of the taxi and ran up to the door only to find it locked. _Unusual,_ he thought to himself. He gasped, knowing instantly that something was wrong with the picture.

"Buffy!" he called through the closed and locked door. "Come on, Buff, let me in!" he begged before rushing to the back door. His face grew pale as he realized what he was looking at. "NO!" he yelled to himself as he quickly ran to the back door, pushing all of his weight to get it open. "Get away from her!" he yelled at Spike as he burst through the door.

"Why should I?" the bleach blonde vampire asked as he clung tighter to the Slayer's petite body. His sharp fangs were only a few precious inches away from her neck and from the way he was holding her within his arms it would be nearly impossible for Buffy to escape.

The Slayer had realized that and so did Xander. "Drop her!" he commanded.

"Xander, save yourself," Buffy commanded as she felt Spike getting closer to her.

"I'm not going to loose you too!" Xander argued back as he reached for a cross from on top of the microwave. "Now you're going to let her go," he commanded sternly as he focused on Spike.

Spike laughed. "You're all talk," he pointed out before he began sinking his teeth into Buffy's nice and exposed neck. The Slayer made a few pained noises as the vampire began drinking her blood happily.

"Not anymore," Xander said as he firmly applied the cross to Spike's neck. "You let her go and I'll drop the cross."

Spike growled, but did as he was told and dropped Buffy to the ground before spinning around and kicking the cross out of Xander's hand. Xander responded by grabbing it and holding it up to Spike's face. Deciding that he did not have the time for this, Spike groaned and left the room. "I'll be back, Slayer," he warned before he left the house.

"And we'll be ready!" Xander hollered back. "Stakes, crosses, the whole enchilada!" He sighed before rushing to Buffy's side. "You ok?" he asked.

Buffy nodded as she stood up slowly, one hand on her neck where Spike had bitten her. "I'm fine," she said softly.

"Here," Xander said as he handed Buffy one of the hand towels from the counter. "Buffy, what happened here?" he asked.

"Spike," Buffy began as she held the towel up to her neck. "He got his chip out, apparently," she continued. "I'm not exactly sure, but it involved a demon in Africa, I think. I haven't heard anything about Willow. All I know is that she has Giles with her. Presumably he's alive because Dawn said she overheard Willow saying how she needed his help with something."

"Where is Dawn?" Xander asked curiously.

"I told her to get out the second Spike vamped out," Buffy said. "I think she went to Janice's." She sighed heavily. "How's Anya?"

Xander let out a breath painfully as he tried to figure out the best way he could say it. He still could not believe it was entirely real himself.

"Oh god," Buffy began as she saw the few tears beginning to form in Xander's eyes. "Were we too late?"

Xander shook his head as Buffy let out a small sigh of relief. "She's in a coma," Xander whispered. "It's unlikely she'll ever wake up."

"Oh god," Buffy repeated as she moved closer to Xander, hugging him tightly as if there were no tomorrow as she felt his warm tears falling onto her shoulder. "Xander, I am so sorry," she whispered.

"Pardon me?" Giles asked as he looked over in shock at the dark Wiccan holding him hostage. "Did you just say you wanted to raise the dead? Tara's death was natural and there is nothing you can do about it!" he argued.

"Says you and Osirus," Evil Willow muttered under her breath as she poured more oils into the circle of powders on the floor. "But I know this can be done and I am not going to allow some old hypocrite to stop me from doing this!" she yelled, turning her head back to Giles.

"It won't work," Giles warned.

"You know I've had it with you," Willow yelled sternly as she quickly sewed Giles's mouth shut, much in the same style she had done with Warren earlier. "You can't tell me what to do. All you can do now is be a good little Watcher and watch. I'm bringing her back and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

Spike smiled wickedly as he entered Willy's Place. The music was loud heavy metal and Spike smiled, instantly walking up to the bar and taking a seat.

"I don't know anything!" Willy said innocently as he stuck both hands in the air.

"Aren't you the Slayer's lap dog?" one of the demons asked as a second beer was placed in front of him.

Spike turned his platinum head slowly, glancing a peek at the living thing that had dared to call him that. With one wicked smile, he looked at the blue skinned creature before snapping its neck and killing it. "Does it look like I'm the Slayer's lapdog?" he asked innocently as he had snapped the attention of every fearful creature in the building.

"N-n-n-no," Willy croaked fearfully before he evacuated to the safety within the putrid sewers.

"Didn't think so," Spike commented as he turned to face the bar, grabbing himself a bottle of whiskey and popping it open. He sighed heavily as he took a long overdue sip of the bottle. He had not had any since that night with Anya and now he smiled as he drank it down merrily. "So, now that that's all taken care of, who's going to be my butt monkey?"

"Your what?" one of the female vampires asked as she raised a thin eyebrow at him.

"Assistant, so to speak," Spike continued.

"And why exactly would anyone be willing to do that?"

Spike smiled. "We're going to run a Hellmouth the way it was meant to be run. Right after sex though 'cause Slayer's bloodÉwow"

The female vampire sighed as she looked around the dark bar, considering the offer. It was not as if she had anything better to do. "Alright, I'm in."

"Perfect."

Long minutes turning to hours had past since Evil Willow had done her spell. She walked back and forth in the abandoned chemistry lab furiously. "What's taking her so long?" she muttered. "I did everything exactly how the spell said it had to be done."

Giles began making movements, hinting at Evil Willow that he would have liked to say something.

"Sorry, you're still a pest, so I still can't let you talk," Evil Willow said with a shrug.

At that moment, strong energy sent the two of them flying up against the wall. Bright, radiant white light filled the entire room as the green figure entered the room then transforming to look like Willow's deceased lover.

As soon as the brightness had faded, Evil Willow smiled and felt happy for the first time since Tara had died. "I did it!" she said happily.

The figure smiled wickedly before walking over to Willow. "Hey baby, I'm here," it said. "It'll all be ok."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is the genius behind these characters and whatnot, not me. Except for Spike's vampire...That would be property of me, but is in no way a representation of me.

"Tara?" Willow asked once more, her face expressing a look of pure happiness, not just happy that she was causing others pain. The look she had just moments before Tara was shot. "Baby, is it really you?"

The thing inhabiting Tara's body nodded slightly, sticking its hand out in front of it, inspecting it thoroughly. Or, at least, as thoroughly as it could without getting suspicious. "How?" it asked curiously with a slight smile at the witch.

Willow smiled, rushing over to Tara. "It doesn't matter now. You're back," she said gleefully hugging her girlfriend. "That's all that matters."

"Maybe," the thing told her. "But, Will, it's not enough."

Willow frowned in bewilderment. "What--what are you talking about?" she inquired. "I have you again."

"Not entirely," it informed the witch.

"Come again," Willow began. "Tara, you're here. Nothing else matters. Do the veins freak you out? I mean, I could get rid of them."

The Tara-thing shook its head. "They're fine and you never looked better," it tried to assure Willow. "But this isn't how things are going to work between us."

"What are you saying? Do you not love me anymore?" Willow choked as she fought to hold back her tears.

The Tara-thing shook its head once more. "No, nothing like that," it began soothingly as it touched a gentle hand to Willow's left arm.

"Then what?" Willow asked as the tears began forming. "Is there someone else?"

Again the Tara-thing shook its head. "Nothing like that either."

"Is it because I was evil?" Willow asked in fear. "I was doing that all for you."

"It's not you," the Tara-thing pledged solemnly. "I'm wrong."

"I brought you back wrong?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow. She gasped, both hands flinging up to her mouth. "Oh goddess, I brought you back wrong didn't I?"

The Tara-thing fought back the urge to groan aloud and say there was no hope in doing things according to plan, constantly reminding itself that for it to work she had to fool the one Wiccan who could possibly raise the temple. "It's nothing you could have prevented," it assured Willow. "It's justÉpart of my, um, soul is trapped in the afterlife."

Willow frowned. "Is there anything we could do to get it?"

The Tara-thing once again shook its head. "Not exactly get it, but we could go to it."

"How?"

The Tara-thing stopped for a moment, as if to give the illusion of thinking. It knew certainly that this whole thing was only a lie to keep things according to the plans from the underworld. But, if the witch knew that she might not be willing to do the required tasks.

"Well?" Willow goaded impatiently.

The Tara-thing rolled its eyes as it turned away for a brief moment. "Well," it began slowly. "There might be one way"

"What? I'll do anything!"

The Tara-thing smiled. _Perfect, _it thought before turning back around to face the black-haired Wiccan. "The temple...It should be around here."

"Proserpexa?" Willow questioned.

The Tara-thing nodded. "That's the one. It's the only thing that can help us," it said, its eyes filling with darkness.

"Um, excuse me, what are we doing here?" Spike's vampire asked as the two of them approached the exterior of Spike's crypt. "I thought we were going to kill the Slayer."

Spike turned as he looked at the feminine vampire, wondering what on earth had made him choose this vampire above the others. Sure, she was hot enough. Her body was slender and she had curves in just the right places. Her long strawberry blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail behind her pale face and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Well?" she asked as she placed a hand on her hip.

"This is my crypt," Spike pointed out as he gave the door a final kick, opening it. "We're getting it back," he pointed out as he entered, noting for the first time the assortment of snacks on the floor. "What the--" he began.

"My bad," Clem said as he stood up from Spike's television chair. "You just scared me, that's all," he added as he bent over and began picking up the various chip bits.

"Leave it," Spike commanded as he dragged his vampire girl further into the crypt.

Clem shook his head as he continued picking the bits up. "Are you sure?" he asked curiously. "I mean, I made the mess so I have to clean it up."

"I'm positive," Spike said between clenched teeth. "The rats will get it."

"Rats?" the female asked with a frown. "That was not part of the agreement."

"Jumping cats!" Clem exclaimed as he noted the female vampire for the first time. "See, there you go Spike. You have this bird so you can forget about the Slayer."

"And you could do yourself a favor and leave before we kill you," Spike grumbled at Clem.

Clem shrugged as he gathered his few precious bags of chips in his arms. "Bye," he said softly as he walked across the dirt floor and left.

Spike rolled his eyes at the demon before turning back to his vampire. "Home sweet home," he said with a slight smile as he gestured at the crypt with his right arm. "What should we do?"

The vampire returned his smile with the same amount of excitement. "I believe your exact words were 'Right after sex though 'cause Slayer's bloodÉwow'," she began, reciting his words back at him. "So are the aphrodisiac rumors true?" she asked as she advanced towards Spike, her hands going up to his head.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he answered viciously as he pulled her up into his strong but pale arms.

Buffy gave a cautionary look out her front window before tossing a few more crosses, holy water, stakes, and other assorted weapons into an empty backpack on the couch. "Xander!" she called as she began zippering up the somewhat small carrying piece.

Her best friend emerged from the opening leading to the living room from the kitchen, half a sandwich held in his left hand. "Yes?" he asked after swallowing the bit of food in his mouth.

"Finish the sandwich," she began as she tossed the bag over her shoulder and began placing stakes and crosses into her coat pockets. "We're going patrolling before either Willow or Spike hurts anyone else we care about."

Xander nodded as the rest of the sandwich disappeared into his mouth. "Ready," he announced as he caught a stake Buffy had thrown at him.

"Good," Buffy said as she made her way to the door, opening it to allow Xander to leave before she followed, locking the locks behind her just in case Evil Willow had decided to send more demons to the Summers household.

Xander paused, waiting for the Slayer to catch up with him, which she did in an instant. "Where are we headed?" he asked curiously as the two began walking down Revello Drive.

Buffy gave a small shrug. "Probably one of the cemeteries, the one closest to Spike's place. I don't know where Willow is, but Spike probably is close to home. And we have to hurry since he's killing again," she said as she picked her pace up a little bit.

"Right," Xander agreed as he began running after Buffy.

Unknown to either Slayer or friend, someone had been watching them from behind one of the neighbor's bushes. Her eyes filled with excitement as she heard the news that Spike was killing again. "My baby's back," Drusilla said with a slight laugh in her English accent. "And the games begin."


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: None of this belonged to me because the actual owners would make this better…

Author's Note: I apologize for the extremely long wait for something this short, but I honestly do not know where to take this story. I know it's kind of impossible, but as far as fitting in with the third season _Angel_ timeline, this takes place before Connor returns.

Chapter Six

Drusilla tiptoed through the cemetery leading her to Spike's place. She could faintly smell the delicious aroma of Slayer's blood and it was enough to ensure her that her precious Spike was all better again. She slunk herself closer to Spike's crypt, identifying it quite easily. The stars certainly had told her how to find her baby again.

Without any introduction, she kicked open the door and walked inside with a wicked smile. She stopped a second later as her smile reverted to a less thrilled expression. "It is not your birthday," she informed the strawberry blond who was adjusting her shirt from her position in Spike's lap. Drusilla then returned her attention to Spike. "Why do you give her treats if it is not her birthday?"

"Drusilla," Spike stated as he pushed the other vampire off of him. "What are you doing here?"

"The wind has told me of changes. Like you. You're all new again," Drusilla answered plainly in a soft tone of voice. "But it didn't tell me of the new birds," she added as her lower lip stuck out in a pout.

The younger female vampire gave a disgusted glance over at Drusilla then looked at Spike. "You actually liked this escaped insane asylum girl?" she asked.

"No," Spike answered as he grabbed a small bit of wood from the floor. Back before his chip was removed, he had kept it in case Buffy would ever need his help. But now, he finally had a use for the thing.  
"I still love this vampire," he said with a smile as he staked the other vampire with one thrust of the stake.

Drusilla clapped her hands together wildly in approval. "The party's only just starting," she informed Spike. "And it's going to be big," she added excitedly. She stepped up on tiptoe and pulled Spike's head towards her. "Psst, the world's ending," she whispered.

"Really?" Spike asked doubtfully as he picked Drusilla up within his arms. He carried her over to his bed and placed her down carefully before jumping in bed next to her. "When?"

"Soon," Drusilla said vaguely. "The stars speak of it. They're getting very anxious."

* * *

Over in Los Angeles, Cordelia Chase was peacefully enjoying a nice night in her apartment. The Groosalugg was finishing up in the shower, leaving the apartment all for Cordelia. She smiled slightly at that idea as she reached for a magazine. It was nothing important at all, just something she had picked up for when she had spare time. She turned to the first few pages and scanned them to see if there was anything in particular she wanted to read.

Before she could make up her mind, a vision hit her. Sure, they were not painful anymore, but this was not her average vision. Her head jolted backwards and her eyes turned white. She could see what was happening. A woman was on a cliff raising a tower further. Cordelia focused harder and recognized the woman as Willow. The woman's hair was all black and she had very many veins, but she could still recognize it as Willow. Willow did something towards the tower. The tower began lowering into the earth. After it disappeared, the earth around it began doing the same.

Cordelia gasped as the vision ended. She knew what this meant. She had to call Buffy or Xander or anyone from Sunnydale. She raced into her bedroom and grabbed her phone book. She quickly turned to the S division as she reached for the phone. She scanned the name before spotting Summers, Buffy. She quickly dialed the number and hoped that the Slayer would be home. "Come on, Buffy," she whispered.


End file.
